By Kevin Hillier
On the back of the anti climax that was the state election (more later) can we get on with the issue of voting for the mayor of Wyndham.
Hopefully our band of councillors can find their way to the chamber this week to cast their vote (as opposed to campaigning for them) and propel the crown, orb and robes in the general direction of someone who gives a flying fig about Wyndham City and its ratepayers. Or is that too much to ask?
This current group of councillors has done its best work in demonstrating how irrelevant they are and how the city functions with or without them. In many ways, who gets to be head honcho is purely cosmetic, but it comes with a pretty reasonable pay packet and some important responsibilities.
I think it is fair to say the robes have faded in importance, especially given this council saw fit to put the vote off while it attended to more pressing matters. So if the role of mayor has diminished, then all who serve beneath him or her also lose their status accordingly.
The lure of the robes now holds little appeal, and certainly the esteem of the office has gone the way of bank managers in importance.
Good luck to whomever is voted in. If you are able to give the role some renewed credibility, that would be a good start because your fellow councillors have put you behind the starters’ blocks.
The state election was a landslide to the Andrews government and as a result the west remains a Labor stronghold. Tim Pallas and Jill Hennessy retain their seats and Sarah Connolly succeeds Telmo Languiller in Tarneit. Those hoping for marginal seats this side of the Westgate will be disappointed. While there was a swing against Tim Pallas, it hardly will have him quaking in his boots.
It is time now to deliver and be more accountable, more contactable and more relevant to the people you represent. It will be fascinating to see the strategy of the non-Labor interests in the lead-up to the federal poll next year and also their tactics once the wounds heal for state politics.
